'Military-grade bullets' used
in Newcastle bikie shootings: police
At least two women have been
targeted in shootings as part of a bitter and escalating turf war between
rival groups of bikies in Newcastle, with police fearing it is "only a
matter of time" before an innocent member of the public is injured by the
"unpredictable violence".
The women – one the former
partner of a Nomads bikie, the other the de facto partner of a Finks member
– were inside their homes in February and March this year when the houses
were shot at by unknown assailants who fled into the night.
A home at Gillieston Heights was shot at early on
February 2.
Photo: Simon McCarthy
A list of shootings compiled by police, tendered to
the Supreme Court in Sydney on Thursday, reveals a high-powered rifle with
"military-grade" .223-calibre rounds was used in one of the shootings, at
Chisholm, while a shotgun and pistol was used in the other, at Gillieston
Heights.
"Military-grade" ammunition was used to target a
Chisholm home with a woman and her daughter inside.
Photo: Max Mason-Hubers
In an application for a
Serious Crime Prevention Order, police allege the men are involved in a
criminal group and should be banned from any pub or club, restricted
from using encrypted messaging apps like Wickr, Snapchat or WhatsApp,
and must be obliged to produce their phone and passwords to police upon
request.
The police application was
opposed by the men, who said in court on Thursday they are not in "open
warfare" with the Finks, do not engage in criminal activity, and do not
think they're above the law.
Don't believe they're above the law: Nomads
members Kane Benjamin Tamplin, Blake Kevin Martin, James Kenneth
Quinnell, Bradley Bowtell and Dylan Patrick Brittliffe.
Photo: AAP
In court documents, a senior police officer
attached to the gangs task force Strike Force Raptor said the shootings
targeting the women were "outside the accepted OMCG [outlaw motorcycle
gang] conventions".
The conflict between the
Finks and the Nomads was labelled "the most significant" in NSW.
"The level of violence is
now at the most dangerous levels I have witnessed in this conflict," the
officer said.
"High-powered rifles are now
being used, compared to lower-grade weapons such as shotguns a few
months ago. The shootings are more reckless and nearly all the recent
attacks have involved the use of firearms or firebombs.
"The violence has escalated to the point that it
has become an emergency. It is only a matter of time before a member of
the public entirely not associated with these two gangs is injured."
According to police, the
"catalyst" for the feud was in October 2016, when a friend of the Nomads
defected to the Finks.
Two Instagram videos show Nomads motorcycle gang
member James Kenneth Quinnell speaking about NSW Police and insulting
rival Finks bikie gang.
Since then, other perceived slights
have escalated the dispute, police say, including a chance meeting between a
Fink and a Nomad in January at a Charlestown Square tattoo parlour. After an
initial confrontation, where each urged "don't disrespect me", they traded blows
in the car park while shouting "I respect you".
One day later, the home of Troy
Vanderlight – who had the upper hand in the fistfight – was shot up, and 10 days
after that an assailant suspected to be on foot threw a molotov cocktail at his
home.
On February 13 Vanderlight's home was targeted again, with
a dark-coloured SUV pulling up outside and a person firing seven shots from a
high-powered rifle.
A dark-coloured car was also
used on March 4, when a Thornton home was sprayed with bullets at 12.08am,
injuring the friend of a Fink who was sleeping inside.
The victim, who had been on a
lounge, jumped up when he heard the shots and had a .223-calibre bullet go
through his calf. He then crawled to a rear bedroom, leaving a trail of
blood.
On March 1, a high-powered rifle was used at Chisholm,
near Maitland, to target the de facto of high-ranking Fink Andrew Manners.
The woman was at home with her daughter, while Manners was behind bars.
Twenty shots were fired into the
front window, front door and garage door, some travelling through walls to
the bedroom where the pair were sleeping. Police found a pile of
.223-calibre casings on the road outside.
